Ring My Bell
by JR Salazar
Summary: Azumanga Daioh poetry. Poem 9 up
1. Koyomi Borderline

This is a collection of poetry that I've started. I've started to have a fondness for Azumanga Daioh. A wonderful, cute comedy about 7 high school students, a few obnoxious teachers, and the unsimple kind of lives they lead. Enjoy.  
  
***********************  
"You can ring my bell, ring my bell,  
You can ring my bell, ring my bell  
(ring my bell, ding-a-ling-a-ling)…"  
-Anita Ward, Ring My Bell  
  
Ring My Bell  
  
By Jo-Ryan Salazar  
  
Poem 1: Koyomi == Borderline  
  
Morning. Rise.  
And believe.  
I believe that appearance is everything.  
I believe that appearance is everything.  
I believe that appearance is everything.  
  
Yes. I believe.  
  
I'm obsessed about it. In one way or another.  
I want to look beautiful,   
And become   
An image   
For everyone.  
It's not about alienation,  
It's not about degradation,  
It's about gaining an action for satisfaction.  
And I can't satisfy.  
  
Everyone thinks the world of me,  
And I am oblivious,  
Lacking, short.  
  
Sometimes I may eat a chocolate or two,  
And that would be it for the day.  
Monday, check the scales,  
Tuesday, check the scales,  
Wednesday, check the scales.  
It's like a cycle that never ends  
And has no right too,  
Because it's purifying. It's beneficial.  
It's healthy.  
  
Everyone thinks I'm normal.  
Normal. N-O-R-M-A-L.  
Really. Everyone sees me as a role model.  
Everyone sees me as this cool girl  
With the cool image  
And the cool glasses.  
  
But, I just don't seem   
To have   
The tendency   
To nourish. I have no right to.  
No one knows this,  
But one way or another, they will.  
  
Even Tomo will. My best friend.  
She may be oblivious to the real me,  
But I'm sure she'll no.  
And then again, I don't want her to know  
That I chose to taint my image  
Without even tainting it.  
  
Sometimes, I ponder,  
Is life really that important?  
You ask me that question,  
And I will turn my eyes down low,  
And take a knife in the middle of the night,  
And watch as blood falls down  
In the shower.  
  
That is my answer.   
It's about appearance.  
It's about my image.  
It's about being attractive.  
It's about feeling good.  
Everyone thinks I've done that.  
But I feel that I haven't gotten there.  
It's like a journey to a point of no return,  
And it's up to me to change it.  
  
I will change. I will believe that appearance is not everything.   
But not yet. Not yet.  
  
***************************  
End Poem 1 


	2. Tomo Fireball

AZUMANGA DAIOH copyright Kiyohiko Azuma, etc.  
*********************  
  
Ring My Bell  
  
By Jo-Ryan Salazar  
  
Poem 2: Tomo == Fireball  
  
They say that there is good and bad energy.  
Good energy is healthy, bad energy makes you sick.  
It's too obvious that I feed my life on good energy.  
  
Energy to live.  
Energy to burn.  
Energy to run, walk, swim.  
Energy to leap into the air  
And dance with angels.  
  
Boundless.   
Restless.   
Endless.  
But never heartless.  
(Like that teacher with the   
Glasses and the big mouth,   
Who gave his heart away  
So many long years ago.)  
  
I'm not loud, I'm merry.  
I can be Summer.  
I can be Christman.  
I can be New Year's.  
I can be Easter.  
I can be my birthday and your birthday.  
I can be the girl next door  
Or the girl in your dreams.  
I can be anything you want.  
Because I am wonderful, lovable  
Bundle of pure energy.  
  
And it's never gonna stop,  
Never gonna stop.  
It never had,  
And it never will.  
  
Honesty. That is me.  
An honest bundle of energy  
That you can see.  
  
I like being honest  
When I brighten someone up.  
Sure, I may pay the price  
With my love and sacrifice,  
But it's all for a specific purpose:  
To make my friends, my teachers,   
My school, my world I live in  
A happy, boundless bundle of happy energy.  
  
I can, and I will.  
I can be you.  
You can be me.  
I could be lying next to you in bed with my clothes off, smiling  
Or lying next to you with my clothes on,  
Feeling your heart beat, smiling.  
I can, and I will.  
  
I can be online,  
I can be offline.  
I can call you on the phone,  
And I can tell you  
That I love you.  
I can tell you that you're special  
Just like me.  
I can, and I will.  
  
Sometimes I leap before I look.  
I can lack finesse,  
And naturally,  
I pay the price  
With my love and sacrifice  
That I want to share,  
The boundless energy.  
  
I'm like a light  
That will brighten your path,  
Your destiny, your future.  
To light up the world  
Takes a lot of energy.  
And that energy is me.  
I am.  
  
And I am here for you. Promise.  
  
****************************  
End Poem 2 


	3. Osaka Kowgal

For this poem, I tried my best to put in a backwards accent.  
  
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Ring My Bell  
  
By Jo-Ryan Salazar  
  
Poem 3: Osaka == Kowgal.  
  
********************************  
  
It's different out here. Too different.  
This poor hick girl who came here  
Via Osaka  
Via Kobe   
Via Wakayama  
(Tomo don't know where't is)  
Is shocked beyond her shoes.  
  
My parents call me Ayumu.  
Ayumu's my real name,  
anyway.  
I thought they're like gonna call me "Ayumi."  
But they say that Ayumi's  
This singer who was so gosh darn cute  
That she made every s.o.b. smile.  
(Or so they says.)  
And she was born in the west,  
Like me.  
(Or so they says.)  
  
Gosh darnit, I don't know if I want  
be a singer.  
Shucks, I sure as hell don't know what  
I want to be  
When I grow up.  
It's too different out here, Tokyo is.  
It's scary.  
Osaka was nev'r like this, y'know?  
  
(For your information, I'm referring to my old city,  
Not me. I still find it annoying to be called  
After my old city  
By my friends in my new city.)  
  
I'm too laid back. I take things easy.  
  
You might think I'm fit for living in this place  
In the United States them s.o.b.'s call  
The "Bible Belt."  
I don' even know what the hell a Bible is.  
But I heard it's pretty interesting to read,  
About some guy who gets nailed   
To a piece of wood  
In front of these people called "Joos."  
What are "Joos?"   
Shoots, whoever that person was,  
I'm sure he wasn't enjoying being nailed to a cheap piece wood,  
That's fer sure.  
But I would like to know how it feels  
To be nailed to wood.  
Must feel pretty nice.  
  
I'm scared for Chiyo.  
Darn it, how does she use her hair?  
Does she fly like a bird  
And replace them with new ones  
When they don't work?  
Goddammit, is she like some kinda alien  
Who came from outer space  
To raise hell on this school?  
Like a…bodysnatcher?  
Oh my heart!  
  
You may say I'm weird when I say this.  
But it's true. Sometimes,  
I go a little bit too ahead of myself.  
I can be an airhead. In fact, I am.  
Well, kinda.  
  
But when I think about it,  
Meeting new friends isn't so bad.  
Yomi, Tomo, Chiyo, Sakaki, Kagura, Kaorin,  
And even Miss Yukari.  
It's what they call "cumrahdry."  
  
I do go ahead of myself.  
I didn't know that panties and guns  
Had an "adult" connection.  
When I think about it,  
It kinda makes me scared, y'know?  
It's different.  
  
Even Miss Yukari scares me.  
She can't even drive well.  
I could be gone. Osaka would be gone.  
And I wouldn't be writing this poem.  
I'm glad I'm still alive.  
  
But the school, my friends, life   
is so different. It's special.  
It's beautiful. The world is beautiful.  
The whole new, different, beautiful world's country.  
  
**************************  
End Poem 3 


	4. Sakaki Dream

******************  
Ring My Bell  
  
By Jo-Ryan Salazar  
  
Poem 4: Sakaki == Dream Lover  
  
******************  
You may think I'm inapproachable,  
But it's the opposite.  
  
I love cats. They are so cute.  
If there was one animal I would be,  
I would be a cat.  
People would feed me,  
People would stimulate me,  
I would feel like a queen.  
It would be so wonderful.  
So wonderful…  
  
I love cute things.  
They provide wonderful stimulation.  
Tittlating, exhilarating, sugar-sweet  
Like candy made in heaven.  
But then, people would think I'm weird.  
  
I'm supposed to show maturity,  
I'm supposed to be a young woman,  
Become a class example  
For everyone.  
I'm not a little girl anymore,  
But sometimes,  
I wish I was. I still feel like one.  
  
But whenever I try to pet a cat,  
It bites my hand.  
These adorable little kittens  
Turn into monsters of pain.  
It's frustrating.  
  
There's this dog that I like.  
It can be ridden on.  
But only little girls can ride dogs like that.  
  
I always wanted to ride a dolphin.  
Sometimes at night, I dream that I'm riding on  
This giant dolphin, leaping thorough the seas.  
It's like a boat. I can take myself wherever I want to go.  
Okinawa, Hawaii, Australia, anywhere.  
Me and my pet dolphin can touch heaven,  
The stars, the full moon rising,  
My happiness reaching its peak.  
It would be wonderful to happen,  
And if it did.  
I would do it every day,  
If not every day,  
At least during summer. Every summer.  
  
There are things I like,  
And there are things I don't like.  
  
One time, there's this Literature teacher  
Who has a fetish for women.  
He word a cat costume at one of our Cultural Fairs,  
And I thought it was a lady in that costume,  
But it was the teacher.  
I was so embarrassed.  
He even showed a drawing of me  
Wearing some crazy cabaret outfit  
With bunny ears.  
  
I love cute things. But I hate dirty old men.  
I think my friends would feel the same way.  
  
I work hard, but I love to play hard.  
I can help a team out singlehandedly.  
I win without much difficulty.  
Sports is a fun excursion for someone  
Who loves cute things.  
Like me.  
  
I don't like rivalries. Even if it's against my friend Kagura.  
I like being transparent, curteous, respectful.   
It shows how much better a person you are.  
But if it's a rivalry, it has to be a friendly one.  
Kagura says it is.  
So be it. But I seem to beat her every time.  
  
I seem to be a magnet for the guys at school.  
It's so natural. While what Tomo eats go to her gut,  
What I eat will make even more taller,  
And my boobs get bigger.  
So big, that I might as well be a model  
Out of high school.  
  
I hate losing my virginity  
Because it causes me to lose my anonymity  
Too. I've never had sex with anyone before.  
I've never though about having a boyfriend.  
It's never entered my mind.  
  
But I can dream about having a relationship.  
I can dream about dolphins,  
I can dream about cats,  
I can dream about being the best woman in the world…  
if I want to.  
  
I guess there's no harm in dreaming, or living your dreams.  
Who knows,   
they might as well come true.  
  
******************************  
End Poem 4 


	5. Chiyo Prodigal Daughter

Ring My Bell  
  
By Jo-Ryan Salazar  
  
Poem 5: Chiyo == Prodigal Daughter  
  
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It isn't easy being me.  
But I guess you can say it is.  
  
I don't know how I knew everything in this world.  
It's scary, and yet, it's beneficial.  
There are few geniuses that can know what it takes  
To be the best person you can be  
At age ten.  
  
I know too many friends.  
I am overwhelmed.  
It can get hostile,  
And it can also be rewarding.  
  
I know some friends  
Who are still as old as me  
And they're still in elementary school.  
  
This is what is means to be  
What society calls  
A genius.  
  
I never told this to my friends,  
But I personally feel  
There is no such things.  
  
Some people are born smart,  
Some people are born dumb,  
Some people are born in between.  
It's in the genes. It's genetics.  
  
I learned that from reading reference books.  
  
I always try to make sure that everyone knows  
What the world is like today.  
It makes your mind, your heart, your soul  
Smile, because you have someone pint-sized  
Who can help you.  
(Well, actually, I'm starting to be as tall as them.  
I will be. Eventually.)  
  
There are some things that I also get scared of.  
Like thunder and lighting.  
Or horror stories.  
Or even Miss Yukari's driving.  
  
I would want to experience  
The pleasure of walking in fields of  
Grain under raspberry heaven.  
But I don't want to do that now.  
I've got my whole life ahead of me.  
I don't want to die.  
My friends know that.  
I love life.  
  
There have been stories  
Of people who were "genii,"  
(that's correct plural for "geniuses")  
And who threw it all away  
When they made it to high school.  
  
Not for me. It's the opposite.  
They say I don't need to work,  
But even though I may be   
On track to be  
What they call a "debutante,"  
I prefer to work hard,  
And be just like everyone else.  
  
I know no one who can take that away from me,  
And there is no one who can take that away from me.  
  
I can use my hair to fly away,  
With my dad, who is as tall  
As he wants to be.  
I can fly away from here,  
And enjoy the view,  
Just like my friends.  
  
The sun has come and gone away,  
And soon will be graduation day.  
I look forward to flying my way  
Towards it.  
Towards myself.  
  
***************************  
End Poem 5 


	6. Kagura Rivals by Nature

Ring My Bell  
By Jo-Ryan Salazar  
***************  
Poem 6: Kagura ( Rivals by Nature  
I love competition.  
Every second, minute, hour, day, week, month, year, era.  
You breathe, drink, eat, and sleep competition.  
You live and die by success of failure.  
Even if that competition  
Is you friend,  
Your sister,  
Your brother,  
Or that cousin who acts spoiled.  
You compete. I compete. We compete.  
I know a lot of friends that live and die by competition.  
They are few among many.  
After the competition's finished, tensions ease  
But you just keep running, jumping, swimming,  
Maybe get your hands full and grab some boobs  
Like my obnoxious friend with the Fujiko complex  
Who I have a mild aversion  
But love the same.  
Competition leads to camaraderie.  
Camaraderie leads to respect.  
Respect leads to trust.  
Trust leads to love.  
Love leads to madness.  
Madness leads to devotion.  
Devotion leads to commitment.  
Commitment leads to preparation.  
Preparation leads to competition.  
And it starts again.  
I will not be denied.  
I will not be defeated.  
I will not succumb to a loss  
Resulting from a lack of devotion,  
A lack of preparation,  
A lack of affirmation  
In any location,  
Whether by the sea,  
By the gym,  
By the pool,  
By the track,  
Or wherever you want to prove yourself.  
I will be there.  
I know how good my friends can be.  
I know how cool my friends can be.  
I know how smart my friends can be.  
I know how steroids can wipe my friends  
Of the attributes mentioned.  
I can say, I give up, I concede.  
Or I can say, Yeah, but that was a warm-up.  
I say neither,  
And I say, Go!  
The electric energy above is in an emerald color,  
As emerald as the hills of a place  
Some will call Raspberry Heaven, others Bliss,  
Others an overhyped, plain Windows XP wallpaper.  
I run from one corner of the world to the other.  
Speed courses through my veins,  
My heart, my lungs, my muscles, my bones.  
It is on full throttle, and it never stops.  
It knows that to succeed, you must triumph.  
And when one triumphs, one already has a respect  
For her rival.  
It is green, and it stays green.  
I won't lose tomorrow. Not now, not ever.  
Let's go forward, friend.  
*************************  
End Poem 6 


	7. Kaorin Rain In Pain The Longing

Ring My Bell

By Jo-Ryan Salazar

Poem 7: Kaorin è Rain In Pain…The Longing

Water. It pours down on me  
As I wait here, still, quiet.  
Water. It flows out of my eyes,  
A love lost, forgotten, oblivious.

Do you love me? That is all I need to know.  
And still, I, who watches it all unfold  
And unravel  
Cannot summon the inner strength  
That I so long to deserve  
To find the words  
To ask you  
Softly, gently, discreetly.

You think it is a joke,  
That I am some hoity-toity  
Playgirl, fangirl, some other girl  
Who has nothing to do  
But follow you like a hawk.  
But it isn't. Why should it be?

I am sixteen years old,  
A woman, on the verge of  
Making pain become pleasure  
If I (I!) could just find that someone.  
I don't care if it's a man or a woman.

All I care for is someone I can trust.  
I need someone  
Who can save me from being  
Exploited, manipulated  
From those who are sick enough  
To make women lower that they  
Should be,  
And deliver me to those  
Who raise women upon women  
To a higher existence.  
So this I ask.

Do I wait in vain  
As the rain falls down?  
Pitter, patter, pitter, patter.  
Every drop that falls  
Is a heartbeat, my heartbeat,  
And it will not stop beating  
Until I die…

…and the rain falls away.  
I want you. Now.

End Poem 7


	8. Yukari Freedom Girl

Ring My Bell  
By Jo-Ryan A. Salazar  
Poem 8: Yukari == Freedom Girl

There's nothing that I like more  
Than to be removed  
Of this thing called  
Work.

I mean, come on.  
It really, I don't know, sucks  
When you have to live with your parents,  
Drive like you want your friends to die,  
Teach like you don't want to…  
And get paid…  
Only to do the same things  
Over and over again.

This is how I am, though.  
I just can't help myself.

I don't like work.  
To me, working is a necessary evil  
That can't be stuffed.  
The world goes around working  
Your butt off, twenty four seven  
Three sixty five.

If you're like me,  
You want to free your students  
From work, and enjoy their lives…  
But you can't.

Because there will always be  
The boss, and if the boss says,  
"You're fired! Get out! Now!"  
Your life becomes a lie.

One day, though, I will be free  
From the shackles of work.  
Someday, I will win the lottery,  
And when I do, I will say to myself,  
"You are…The Woman!

The Woman is a happy woman,  
Free from working,  
Because she is a rich girl."

I hope that happens,  
And I have the last laugh.

Till then,  
I will teach my students  
War…and Peace.

End Poem 8


	9. Nyamo Cold Equations

Ring My Bell  
By Jo-Ryan Salazar

Poem 9: Nyamo == Cold Equation

I don't know. I don't know.  
I just don't know.

Everything turns pitch black  
When it comes down to knowing  
The trendiest solutions  
To the most conservative problems  
In mathematics.

It is a hassle.

Back in the days,  
I would have no problems  
Knowing arithmetic from algebra,  
Knowing the solution to  
8675309 minus  
9035768. But then,

When it comes to knowing  
ab2-cd, oh, you  
could not  
imagine.

I am not lying.  
If I was a liar, I would be on fire.

The only thing I'm good  
At exercising at  
Is my body.  
That is the only equation  
That I know I can solve,  
And that I can survive of.

But if you hand me  
That textbood,  
That friggin textbook  
Full of problems  
Regarding trigonometry, calculus, differential  
Equations, I shudder.  
I stumble,  
I fall,  
I die and turn snow white  
Just thinking about it.

I can try to run away from it,  
But I just can't. I just can't.  
I just can't.

My best friend and soul mate  
Preaches Shakespeare,  
Romeo and Juliet,  
And the only thing I know  
Is that they knew each other.  
They knew that equation.  
They could solve it.

I couldn't solve it.  
Because, I didn't know  
How to approach it. It hurt  
Just to try to solve it.

What if it all falls down  
Like two towers  
Burned down into rubble by  
Exploited birds of metal?

What if I become tortured  
By the one I would love,  
And love in return?

This is just as hard as mathematics,  
Maybe even harder.

Just solving one equation of life  
Is enough for me.  
Maybe I'm good enough for two?

End Poem 9


End file.
